GigaOm

If a proposal before the Federal Communications Commission to allow Wi-Fi use on its 2.4 GHz satellite spectrum is approved, you could wind up seeing Globalstar service in malls, public plazas and cafes -- anywhere where you can find public Wi-Fi today.

Instead of connecting voice conversations to specialty handsets, Globalstar would be supplying data links to everyday tablets, smartphones and laptops. And instead of beaming those signals from the heavens, it would be using the same Wi-Fi access points found everywhere today. The big difference between Globalstar’s network and regular Wi-Fi is that it would be private.

Globalstar and its customers would enjoy exclusive access to those airwaves. Globalstar is calling this proposed Terrestrial Low Power Service, and the element it wants you to focus on is “low power.” It works within Wi-Fi’s short-range and low-power limitations rather than requiring a big intrusive 4G system to be built. Most Wi-Fi devices and router already work in its chunk of the 2.4 GHz band, requiring only a software upgrade to access it. Instead of commissioning specialty equipment, Globalstar could build its network with existing Wi-Fi gear, Globalstar VP of Regulatory Affairs Barbee Ponder said.

Comcast took the lion’s share of new broadband subscriber additions in 2013 proving that the largest provider has a clear advantage over its smaller counterparts.

According to the Leichtman Research Group, the seventeen largest cable and telephone providers in the US -- representing about 93 percent of the market -- acquired over 2.6 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in 2013. That’s slightly less than the net adds from 2012. Comcast added about 1.3 million broadband subscribers in 2013 – accounting for 49 percent of the total net additions for all providers in the year.

On the telco side, Verizon added the most new subscribers with 220,000 new subs, or a bit less than 10 percent of the total net adds. Most of the net adds — 82 percent — came from the cable companies, although it appears that thanks to new fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-node deployments, telcos did get a greater percentage of the new additions in 2013 compared to 2012.

[Commentary] First Google offers to build a lucky city a gigabit network. Now new companies are arriving with similar offers. As these offers excite communities nationwide, many may not realize they are on the verge of repeating errors that doomed cities’ muni Wi-Fi dreams in 2007.

There is little doubt Kansas City has reaped many rewards from its deal with Google, and 34 cities are potentially Google Fiber beneficiaries. International investment bank Macquarie Capital is in deep negotiations for a partnership deal with 11 cities in Utah. C-Spire, a private communications company, just announced a fiber partnership with four Mississippi communities.

This recent spate of high-profile deals may look too good to pass up, but there is an eerie similarity to events leading to the muni Wi-Fi fiasco. As current media coverage drives hype about angels swooping in to bring gigabit networks to cities in need, communities need to heed a lesson from the municipal Wi-Fi days. Fortunately, the companies offering deals now are well capitalized. But to maximize the benefits these investors bring, individuals, local companies and community leaders must think smarter, plan better and negotiate more effectively than their predecessors. They also need a far better understanding of the technologies involved.

[Settles is host of radio talk show Gigabit Nation]

[Commentary] We often think about the implications of building new mobile apps on the front-end: user experiences, delivery, and development and testing needs. But the mobile-first world requires some significant changes to the back-end infrastructure needed to deliver, support and manage it, and those changes will permeate the private data centers and public clouds of the future.

What are the traits of the truly mobile-first infrastructure that will permeate the private data centers and public clouds of the future? We’re still in the early days, but several new and impactful trends have already emerged to shape the landscape.

[Herrod is managing director at General Catalyst Partners]

Prepaid has been very good for Sprint, so good that it runs multiple no-contract services from Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile brands as well as the Sprint As You Go plans launched in 2013.

Apparently you can’t have too much of a good thing because Sprint is launching yet another prepaid offering, this one with the rather unimaginative name Sprint Prepaid. Instead of going after the youth segment the way Boost and Virgin do, Sprint Prepaid will replace As You Go and is targeting the same type of subscriber who would sign on with its main brand, just without the long-term commitment.

At launch, Sprint is offering the Spark-enabled Samsung Galaxy 4 Mini, the Galaxy S3, the Moto G and the iPhone 4S . But the carrier has included an interesting twist in its service plans: You can buy a smartphone with no cellular data connection.

The European Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a large package of laws intended to strengthen data protection -- that’s “privacy” in non-legalese -- across the European Union.

The data protection regulation, passed by members of the European Parliament (MEPs) by 621 votes to 10 with 22 abstentions, was proposed by EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding just over two years ago as a way of harmonizing data protection law across the 28 member states.

The next Parliament will need to take this over after the May election, and Europe’s governments still need to give their approval through the European Council, but it looks like web firms operating in the EU are about to face a very different regulatory landscape. This would include much higher fines for breaches of data protection law in the EU, the limited right for citizens to demand the erasure of their personal data, and strict limitations on what can be done with EU citizens’ data outside the union. A separate resolution passed could also lead to difficulties for US firms in handling the personal data of Europeans.

Just like that, in the fourth quarter of 2013 mobile data usage ticked up to reach a crossover point, making data a bigger revenue source for carriers than voice services.

From this point on data will be the primary growth driver for the US mobile industry, while voice will recede in the rearview mirror. Mobile analyst Chetan Sharma predicted this voice-data flip would occur in 2013, and he turned out to be right on target.

In the fourth quarter, mobile data revenues grew 5 percent quarter over quarter and 20 percent year over year to $24.8 billion, barely eclipsing voice revenues, according to Sharma’s most recent US Wireless Market Update. In total, US carriers brought in $90 billion from mobile data plans in 2013.

[Commentary] SoftBank CEO and Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son is stepping up his efforts to convince the powers that be that an acquisition of T-Mobile would create a more competitive US mobile market.

Son has a pretty impressive track record of getting what he wants, often by sheer will. Which might help explain why T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter reportedly suggested recently that a merger with Sprint is inevitable. But the Federal Communications Commission is slated to hold two major spectrum auctions that are each expected to draw much stronger interest from carriers than the recent H Block auction did.

If neither Sprint nor T-Mobile can pony up the cash to compete, Verizon and AT&T could walk away with enough of the airwaves to ensure the current duopoly for years to come. And while the FCC could give smaller carriers and potential newcomers preferential treatment in those auctions, doing so could give Sprint and T-Mobile a way to legally challenge regulators’ claims that competition is alive and well.

Both the President and the Federal Communications Commission made a big push for unlicensed spectrum that could boost capacity on our Wi-Fi networks and fuel new services for consumers that rely on the free-to-use airwaves. Unlike the licensed spectrum mobile carriers use in their 3G and 4G networks, unlicensed spectrum is open to any device with a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi radio -- and it’s long been the subject of a caustic political debate.

The issue that will have a more immediate impact on consumers was an item that appeared on the FCC’s docket for its March 31 open meeting. The commission will consider an order that would open up the 100 MHz in the 5 GHz band to widespread Wi-Fi use. Technically the band is already unlicensed, but it has a lot of restrictions to prevent interference with the satellite operators that use it. Last week, Globalstar lifted its objections to sharing the airwaves with more active Wi-Fi networks.

In the White House’s 2014 Economic Report, the Obama Administration called out the unlicensed airwaves as a key economic driver, used not just by companies looking to bypass cellular networks but also by mobile carriers themselves. The FCC and the administration are trying to create a more open regulatory environment that would make it easier to open up new spectrum for unlicensed use, often through sharing it with other users, the report said.

[March 11]

The company that handles the security of the so-called “Merkel phone” -- the customized BlackBerry that the German chancellor and other members of her administration have recently started using -- is now making a push to offer secure services to normal companies.

At the Cebit tech show in Hanover, Germany, Secusmart announced a deal with mobile carrier Vodafone to offer an app called Secure Call, which supposedly does what it says on the tin. In the words of Vodafone Deutschland CEO Jens Schulte-Bockum, “Secure Call is an effective weapon against phone tapping for people who want to protect their intellectual property.”

Additionally, Secusmart said it would try selling the Merkel phone more widely. The Merkel phone costs €2,000 ($2,800). Secure Call will reportedly cost around €10 per user per month, and it will support more platforms -- Android first, then iOS and Windows Phone. It will initially only be available in Germany. Meanwhile Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone’s biggest rival in Germany, is also expected to unveil an app for secure voice and SMS communications at Cebit. KPN, the Dutch telecommunications company that runs the E-Plus and Base brands in Germany, is also targeting the privacy-conscious by reselling Silent Circle’s secure communications services.

[March 10]